Paper-feeding machine.



M. VIERENGEL. -PAPER PBEDING MACHINE. APPLIGA'LUJN FILED 00T.11,1a1o.

MATTHEW VIBENGEL, OFIBRQOKYN, NEW YORK.

PAPER-FEEDING MACHINE.

1,000,058. "original application medi April 2v, 1910,

To all whom i?. may concern:

Be it known that I, MATTHEW VIERENGEL, a citizenof the United States, and a resident of the borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Paper- Feedin Machines, of which the followingis a s eci cation. 1

he present application is a division of my original application Serial No. 557 ,87 9, filedApril 27th, 1910, for improvements in envelop machines. A i

The resent invention relates to improvements in machines for separating sheets of paper from an adjustably supported pile and feeding them successively to a printing press, folding machine, envelop machine or other machine arran ed to operate upon the paper sheets, and t e'main object of the present invention is to provide a simple, effective and compact feeding machine which will occupy a minimum amount of floor space and be capable of'rapidly and accurately separating Landv feeding4 sheets of pa ler from a pile.

n carrying out this object, the sheet sepa-i rat-ing devices comprise a pneumatic device and cooperating mechanical devices for segregating one edge of a Sheet from the ad'ustably supported pile, and the feeding o devices comprise a gripper cylinder supported above the sepa-ratingA devices in positioiito take the raised edge of a sheet and pull the sheet from the pile at one end and deliver itl a in reversed position to any suitable sheet receivin or conveyin devices .arranged above the vpi e. With this compact arrangement, the separated sheets are delivered from the pile into a position approximately within I-the limits of the vertical planes outlining the pile, in readiness for direct introduction into the Aprinting press, envelop machine, or other machine which is tooperate upon the sheets. The machine which is to receive the i sheets from the automatic feeder can, therefore, be directly coupled up to the feeder lunch more compactly than with those forms of 4feeders having conveyer frames extending horizontally beyond the pile of the feeder.

` ln order that the invention may be fully understood, Lwill first describe the saine with reference to the accompanying drawings and afterward point out the novelty more particularly in the annexed claims.

In said drawings: Figure 1 is a plan View y A.vertical position but they may be inclined Specication of Letters Patent. Patented Allg. S, 1911.4

Serial No. 557,879. Divided and this application tiled October 11, v 1910. Serial No. 586,488.

2 is a side elevation of the same.v Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the machine taken from the opposite side to that yshown in Fig.

2. Fig. 4 is a ldetail vertical longitudinal sectional view` illustratin the operation of the sheet separating and? delivery devices. Figs, 5 and Gare similar views of the same mechanism illustratingshifted positions .of parts. Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail lan View of `the pneumatic separator and s eet segregating plate, and `F ig. 8 isa detail view illustrating the arrangement of sheet pilin guides? shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 9 is a detai view of a feed-oit` gripper.

My improvements in sheet separating and feeding machines forming the subjectof the present application are shown and described in my above-named original application as part of an envelop machine, but I would i ave it understood at the outset that my` present improvements are not limited in their application to that articular kind of machine but may be applied with equal advantage to other forins of machines which" operate upon sheets of-paper. `I would also ,ofi my improved paper feeding machine. i' Fig.

have it understood that the mounting o'f the feeding machine in inclined position as shown in my originalapplication is immaterial to the operation of the machine, since the machine may be mounted in upright position with the top of the pile presented in a horizontal plane as shown in the accompanying drawings.

The improve feeding machine may be built upon any suitable framework capable of properly supporting the operative parts hereinafter described. As shown, the machine frame includesy the two main side frames indicated by reference numeralsrl and 2, which are suitably braced by transverse bars, tie rodsand shafts which will he referred to specifically only when Anecessary to point out some particular feature.

11, 11, are two rigid Side bars or guides mounted in and depending from the side frames 1 and 2. Thesebars 11 are shown in if desired to better suit the couplin up o thefeeder to a particular press or ot er machine to which sheets are to be fed.

10 is the pile supporting table.

13 is the table'ffsupporting frame formed! with laterally projecting guide rings or lu 12 which embrace and slide upon the ids bars 11. The table 10l resting upon` ram I f sprocket wheels 15 and 18 for the purpose which will presently appear. The shaft 1 9 is driven by a sprocket chain 21 passing around a small sprocket wheel 22 fixed toa ratchet wheel 24 journaled upon a stud 23.

The shaft 19 extends from side to side of the machine and the parts 15, 16, 17 and 18 are duplicated' at the opposite side of the machine. The sprocket chains 17 have secured to each of thema block 25 pivoted to one of the sides of frame 13 of -the table 10, so that the gradual upward movement of table 10 is 5 accomplished by the movement of sprocket chains 17. A kgravity pawl journaled at 31 rests constantlyfin engagement with the .ratchetwheel 24 to prevent retrograde movement. `An actuating pawl 32 is pivoted at `33 upon a lever 34'journaled tothe side frame at 35 and carrying atits lower end an anti-friction roller 36 'operating in-pe- -riphral contactwith a cam 37 keyed to the cylinder shaft 38 extending from lside to side ofthe machine frame and driven in the manner hereinafter explained. A spring 34Il connects the lever34 with the frame to i yieldingly hold the lever against cam 37.

-The-actuating pawl 32 rests upon acontrol- .l- W '-li'ng'l plate 40 which is'supported by a pin 41 just abovethe ratchet wheel 24 and movable y forwardly and backwardly thereover., The pin 4:1 isrotatably mounted in the side frame vand is formed with a .flattened or cut out face 41a to allow plate 40 to drop to a lower position. By turning. the pin .or support 41 on the 'frame' 'the action 0fplate 40 can be adjusted to regulate the feeding stroke of 56j pawl 32. When the rounded part of the pin or' support 41 is turned into enga ement with I lthe controlling plate 40,V said p ate wil/l4 engage the actuating pawl 32 and move it up'in'to engagement with the gravity pawl- 30 for raising said wl 30 and supporting both pawls out ofplengagement with the ratchet. v This controlling plate 40 is pivotedV at 43 to th'e upper end of a rock arm 44 keyed to a shaft 45 journaled in stationary bars l1 and extending transversely above the top .of the pile ofblanks. Secured to shaft 45 are the forwardly presented'gage arms 46 which 'are designed to rest upon the top y blank of the pile. These gage arms are connectedk by a cross bar 46a and have upwardly curved fingers 47 against which the forward Aalso carries a large sprocket wheel 20 which portions of the blanks are bent upwardly by the'separating mechanisln in the manner presently to be explained. From this construction of 'pile elevating mechanism, it will be observed that when the pile is at the proper height for the operation of the separating and feeding devices, the controlling plate 40 will support the actuating pawl 32 out of engagement with the ratchet .wheel 24. Then thevtop surface of the. pile falls below the required height, the downward movement of 'gage arms 46 jwill lower the rock arm 44 and move the controlling plate 40 forwardly to permit the actuating pawl 32 to engage a tooth of ratchet wheel 24 on its next rearward stroke under the action of caln 37 to impart a lifting impulse to the sprocket chains 17.

The -pile of sheets B mounted upon the table 10 is supported at its rear by the vertical piling'gage rods 50 mounted at their upper ends in the blocks 51 threaded upon the right and left vhand screws 52 journaled Nat their inner ends in the bracketbearing 53 and at their outer ends in the bearing blocks 54 which are threaded upon the longitudinal adjusting screws 55 journaled in brackets 56 secured to the inner faces of the side frames 1 and 2. Each ofthe transverse Vadjusting screws 52 is provided with a squared section 52a by which it canv be rotated to adjust they gage rods transversely of the machine. Projecting rearwardly from each of the blocks 51 is a guide rod 51a which passes freely through a guide slot formed in the transverse-brace bar 3 of the machine frame, the purpose of said guide rods 51a being to retain the piling gage rods 50 in engagement with the pile of sheets. Each longitudinal screw has secured to its rear end a bevel, gear 55L which meshes with a similar bevel gear 57 secured to a transverse shaft 58 suitably journaled in the machine frame and provided with a hand wheel 59 by which it is rotated for simultaneously rotating the screws 55 for adjusting the piling gages 50 longitudinally of the machine.

When the feeding machine is operating upon sheetslin the form of envelop blanks as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, it will bel observed that two piling gage rods 50 supported in the angle between the top ilap and side iiaps'of the blank, will be suiiicient forv holding the pile in proper alinement from the rear. Then operating upon square Sheets or blanks, however, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 8 of the drawings, it is necessary to provide two piling gage rods atleach side of the rear of the pile of sheets. This can be conveniently accomplished by mounting two gage rods 50Ka in a single block 50|b as shown in Fig. '4,thesupporting block 50h being designed to be mounted upon the transverse adjusting screw .52 abovev d escribed. With this arrangement, the gage rodsOl will contact with the vertical sides of the ile of sheetsB as shown in Fig. 8,

Vone ro of each connected pair being arranged at the side of the pile, and the other rod of each pair being at the rearof the pile. These gage rods 50 or 508L operate 1n slots formed in the table 10. It will be clear that the slots will have to be arranged to .suit the adjustedfposition of the piling gage rods. The drawings do not illustrate the slots in the table. l

Thesides land Zat the front of the machine overhang the automatic sheet separating devices, andr the operativeparts of 'said devices r are A mounted thereon. 4Vertical guide fingers 60 extend from a frame bar 61 1n osition to engage the angular recesses b of lilanks B. Angular pile holding fingers 02 engage the to ofthe pile-bf blanks at opposlte sides o the proJections forming the bottom Hap ofthe envelop. The engagementof the pile with said fingers 62 is maintained by the pile elevating mechanism.

Extending transversely ofthe machine atits forward end is a cam shaft 7 0 suitably journaled in the machine side frames and carrying at one end a sprocket wheel 71 'over which operates a sprocket chain 72 driven b a sprocket wheel 73 keyed to the shaft 38 above referred to. Bythis means the cam shaft 70 is constantly rotated. The 'shaft 70` .carries 4three cams 75, 76 and 77 for l operating the blank separating devices in the manner which will now be explained. A rock shaft `80 is suitably journaled the side 'frames of the machine parallel with the cam shaft` and a rock arm 81 extends fromthe shaft 8,0 in the'central longitudmal plane of the machine and has pivotally connected at 82 an u wardly extending arm 83 formed with a blfiircated upper end 84 in which is pivotally' mounted a suctionnger 85. The arm.

8l Journaled upon shaft 801s formed integral with s or otherwise rigidly connected with an oppositely extending arm 81a carrying inits free end an anti-friction roller 81 y which operates in peri heral engagement `with the cam 76 above re erred to.

The suc-` tionY finger 85.is hollowed` out and formed with a blank engaging suction cup in its under face in a manner well understood in this art andthe tubular structure of said suction finger 85 is connected with a flexible hose 80 extending to an ordinary suction pump 87 pivotally mounted upon the frame at 88 and provided with an actuating piston `rod 89 connected with acrank 90 driven by any suitable part of `the machine. The suction finger 85 is pivotally mounted upon the upper end of a rod 91 which extends through an opening in frame bar 61 and has threaded n s, upon its lower end an adjustable thumb nut "5)1 which is engaged by the forward end of a lever 92 mounted upon rock shaft-93 journaled in side frames 1 and 2 and carry- 111g an anti-friction roller 94: operating upon the cam above referred to. A spring 91" is confined u on rod 91 'between suction `97 to the ,arm 83 and extends forwardly to the shaft 70 on which it is guided. lThis pitman 96 carries an anti-friction roller 98 operating upon `the cam 77 above referred to. The rock shaft has rigidly secured to it the upwardly projecting arms 100 and `101 arranged at an angle to each other. The arm 101 has pivoted to it at 102 a pitman 103 extending rearwardly to the shaft 38 upon which it is guided, and carrying an anti-friction roller 104 operating in periph-l eral contact vwith a cam105 keyed to said shaft 38.- Attorsion sprin shaft 80 with'the machine rame causes pit- `man` 103 to closely follow the movements of said actuating cam 105. There are two or more upward y presented arms 100 upon the rock shaft 80 between the side frames of the -106 connecting machine, and journaled in the upper endsof said arms is a shaft 110 having secured to it in the central longitudinal plane of the machine the bifurcated separating plate 111. .The two parts of the separating plate 111 operate in the grooves 112 "cut in the opposite edges of the arm 83 of the suction separating finger and are guided thereby in their movements 'inwardly and outwardly over the pile and are carried by the arm 83 when sald arm is elevated and lowered. The separatin plate 111 is formed with upwardly inclined portions 111 to form with the main part of the plate angular notches to enga ethe front edge of a blank for raisin@r 1t rom the pile, and moving it backwart and upward vinto position to be taken by the cylinder grippers. Referring brieiiy to the operation of this automatic sheet separating mechanism, it will be observed that the cams 75, V70 and 77 cause the suction separating finger 85 to successively assume the positions illustrated' in Figs. 5, 6 and 4:. Vhile the suction finger is performing these movements, the separa ting y finger 111 is moved from the position shown in Fig. 5 to theposition shown in Fig. 4, the final` rearward movement under the action. of cam and spring 106 causinor the separating finger to engage the edge ov the blank and force it rearwardly to the position shown in Fig. 4, that is, curved up against the guide fingers 47. The partly separated sheet is held inthis position until taken by the gripper mechanisml which will now be described. Y

To facilitate the removal of sheets from the pile after their front edgeshave been segregated from the pile by the mechanism 46 and fingers 47 away from the diately after the gri `vJournaled in -above described, I 'prefer to raise the arms 'ile immeers have c osed upon the leadingledgel of `he sheet.l plishthis, the cross bar 46* is extended betgndon'e of the arms 46 to. provide a lug neathjwhich is presented a long `rock arm 150'mounted onavrock shaft 151 cari' g rock-.arms 1`52'having anti-friction ro leisl v153 operating in peripheral contact with a cam '.154 viiiount'ed-upon the cam shaft 70. This cam 154 is sotm y iiied in its operation that' the varms 46 wil be raised at the moment the gripper cylinder starts to pull the top -sheet from the pile. A

the machine side frames above thepile of sheets =in the automatic feeding mechanism 'just. described, is the transverse cylinder shaft- 38 above referredv to. The shaft-38 has secured to it a plur'ality of transversely adjustable wheels 4or pulleys 125 constituting asectional feed cylinder. The wheels or pulleys 125 are adjustabl-y secured to shaft38 by any suitable vmeans such as set screws 125n shown in `dotted lines in Fig. 4. Two of saidwheels or cylindei'sctions 125 are formed with gripper slots'or openings-126 through which 'pro'ect the curved gripper .fingers 127, f a jpstably. mountedupon Va -rock shaft 128 by means ofset screws 127", The shaft128 isjour-naled arms 129 can be adjusted independentlyv in arms 129 which are adjustably secured toy 'shaft 38, by any suitable means such as set screws 129 shown in Fig. 1. .This gripper shaft'128 carries a" small gear wheel 130in constant mesh withjagear segment 131 journaled at 132 upon an arm 133 also secured' to'shaft 38. The ear segment alsov carries an antifriction roler 134 whichruns in the cam groove of a stationary cam 135 secured to the Vside frame of the machine and through which the shaft 38 extends. lThe around the shaft 38 within certainlimits to properly register the sheet upon the gripper cylinder, that is, to cause the sheet-to assume Vproper. positionfwith its lon ltudinal axis parallel with the direction o travel. The

I grip pers 127l are also adjustable transversely of the machine upon their shaft` 12,8 by means such as set screws 127, and the cylinder sections 125 are similarly adjustable tra nsversely'of the machine upon their shaft 38 to adapt the machine to the feed of sheets of diffcrentsizes T he pair of gripper fingers 127 project rearwardlyl with reference to" the direction of travel of the cylinder Vsections 125, and each finger is formed with a curved gaging face 127a vwhich engages the edge of the sheet and crowds it backwardly in' the closing, movement so as to accurately register the sheet in the bite of the rippers." In the position shown in Fig.

4 o` the drawings, the gripper fingers 127 arejust about to close upon the raised edge To accomof a. shee'fw'hich is heid in positiii for the engagement ofthe gripper fingers by the separating plate `111. -Immediately after thef osition shown, the grippers close upon the blank and as the sectional gripper c linder rotates4 in the direction indicated y the arrow, the sheet -is drawn-from the top of` the pile and carried upwardly and delivered Abeneath the smallv frictional feed rollers 145 and fed onto a conve er frame or other re? ceiving mechanism o the machine to which the vsheets, are to be supplied for further operation. I have-not shown in the accom-- panying drawings, the means for handli the sheet after it leaves the lbite ofthe fe rollers 145 and gripper cylinders 125. In

my above named original application Serial LNo. 557,879, the sheets or blanks pass at'this point to the endless conve er belt of an enthe successive sheets` may be conveyed to the front gages of a printing press or of. a Afoldving machine. These various forms of mechf -velop machine. In other orms of machines,

anisms `for transferring sheets from the au- Y tomatic `feeder proper to the machine which is to operate u on the sheets4 are well known in the art, an -will be understood without further. explanation, since the present inwhi'ch operates upon the'sheets after they Aare-properly separated from the .pile land deliveredjsuccessively yto the required point. 160 1s the mainV power shaft of the machine jventiondoes not relate to the mechanism provided with fast and loose pulleys 161 and j 162 and with a H wheel 163. This power shaft 160 has a r iving pinion 164 which meshes with a lar gear 165 journaled on a stud projecting om 4side frame 2 of `the machine. Thisv gear 165 meshes withaand drives an intermediate gear 166 which in turn drives a larger ear 167 keyed to the end of the shaft 38 og the 'gripper cylinder.

The shaft 146 carrying feed rollers 145 is driven by a `jar 168 meshing with' gear 167,. The descri ed gearing for operating the parts of my feeding machine istaken from u the application of the machinetoan envelop machine, but it will be understood that the iis means shown and described for driving the parts are not essential to the present invention.

One of the important features of my improved automatic sheet separating and feeding machine is the arrangementV by: which the mechanism can be very compactly.combined with a press or otherv machine gto; which sheets are to be supplied. ,Y AThe@delivery mechanism of v the!! improved. -machiner is- I that is occupied by the pile cfsheets.

`tively adjustin said mounted directly above the forward 4edge of the, pile of sheets, upon which edge the sheet separating devices also operate, so that thesheets are successively pulled from the top of the pile andl delivered in a higher plane' in reversed position within the vertical limits ofthe original pile. With this ar-4 rangement, the space required for receiving sheets from the feeder and for imparting any final positioning orregistering movement is located above the 'saine floor space i This.V `arrangement does away with the door space iisually required for such conveying frames and adjusting devices. With the iiriproved arrangement, the press or other machine can be located in close proximity to the rear face of the pile of sheets. l

,The improved separating devices form a'4 very. effective and raplidl operating mechanism for separating t e s eets from the pile. Thel rocking motion of the pneumatic separating rfinger while in engagement with the: front edge Vof a sheet causes an abrupt upwai-d bend in the edge of the sheet wliichi minimizes the chance of two 'sheets beiii'g moved from the pile at the same time. The g means whereby the separated edge cf the sheet is bent upward against the cji'rved fin- 1 gers resting on the tcp of the ile, insures an f accurate register' of the lea ing edge of a; sheet in the grippers of the delivery cylinder so that the successive sheets are carried from the pile4 'in 'uniformrelation to the mechanism to which they are to he delivered, and the necessity for Subsequent registering of the sheets is reduced to a minimum.

What I- claim is: l

1. In a aper feedin machine, the ccmbinaticn of) an adjustab e dpile v'support-,anch separating means mcunte adjacent to.one edge of the pile of sheets upon said sup ort, adapted to separate a sheet from the pi e at its ed e and raise the separated edge from the ie, of a` rotary delivery cylinder pro, vided with sheet engaging grippers mounted above said separatin means, and adapted to enga e the raised e eof a sheet and pull the s eet from the pi e, and means for relagrippers circumferentially of the cy nder.

2. In a aper feeding machine, the combination cil an automatically Vanijustalole pile su port, an armresting u on the tcp of the pi e, a'separating device a apted tc engage a sheet at one edge and bend the raised edge of thesheet u wardly against said arm, 'a delivery cylin er provided with sheet en-4 gagmg grippersmcunted above said separating device and adapted to engage a raised edge of a sheet and pull the sheet from lthe pile, and, means fcrau'tcmatically and intermittently. "raisiil said' arm out cf -contact with the tcp oft e pile.

3.4 In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a binaticn cf an adjustable pile support, a agieY -arm resting normally upon the top o t ..pile upon said support, a separatin device adapted to raise one edge of a-sheet rom the .pile-.imdbend 'the sheet upwardly a ainst infiel gage arm, 'deliver mechanism a al ted to engagethe raised e e of a sheet an rf,- inovethe sheet from t e pile, a 'rock aini engagin said gage armLjand a cam actuating sai rock arm for hauiiomatically and intermittently raising said ga e arm out of contact with the top ofthe pi e.

4t In a Paper feeding machine, the combination o a pile -aupport, a rotary delivery `cylinder, grippers inountedupon said cylinder and formedv with sheet en aging fingers andsheet registering faces a jacent to ,said

engaging fingers, means for rel-ativel ad justing said grippers circumferential y. of the cylinder, means for presenting the leading edges of successive sheets into position to be taken by said cylinder gri pers, and ineansfor opening and closing sai grippers.

5. In a papei` feeding -machine,the compile support, a` rotary delivery cylinder, grippers journaled .upon saidcyl inder andforined with sheet engaging iingers and curved registering faces adjacent to said engaging lingers, meansfor relatively adjusting said grippers circumfcrentially of the cylinder, lseparating means adapted te i raise the leading edges of successive sheets from the pile and present them' into position. to be-taken -by said .cylinder grippers` and means foropening and closingr said grippers.

6. In a bination o a pile support, a rctary'gripper cylinder, a gripper bar mountedupon said cylinder, grippers carried by said bar and formed with registering faces, means for, relatively adjusting the bearings 'of the gripper bar ci-rcumferentially of the cyliner, means for presentingthe leading edge' ofl si'iccessive sheets into position to be 4taken by said cylinder grippers, and means for opening and closing said grippers."

7. In a aper feedingmachine, the'ccinbinaticn o a pile support, a sheet 'convey- 'ing rotary gripper cylinder, independently adjustable shaft bearings mounted upon said cylinder and adjustable circumferentially thereof, a gripper shaft journaled in said bearings and carrying shet-engaging grippers formed .with registering faces, separating means fcrraisingand presenting the leading edge Vof successive sheets into position to be taken ,by said cylinder grippers, and means for opening and" closing said grippers.

8. In a paper feedinfgmachine, the combi` nation of a' pile su lsheet reversing- .Iflt 'a -rotary gripper cylin er mounted above .'sai Vpile 'support and formed ofl independently adjustablewheel sections capable of transverse and circumfe rential adjustment, ad

paper feeding machine, the ccmics,

iio

iis

iso..

aper feeding machine, the .comiJa pile support, a rotary grip er position to be taken by said cylinder grip.

pers, and means for opening and closing said giippers. C Y l 10. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of a pile support, and suitable sheet delivery mechanism', with an arm engaging the top of a pile of sheets, a sheet separating device comprising a sheet encgagin linger adapted to take hold oi the e ge o a sheet and raise it upwardly, and a separating plate adapted to move inwardly into engagement wit the raised edge ofthe sheet and moveit awayv from the engaging finger and bend it upwardly against saidarm.

11. In a paper feedingmachine, the combination of'an automatically adjustable pile support, and suitable sheet delivery mechaiiisin,w 1th an arm engaging 'the toppf a pile of sheets, and a sheet separating device coms iiisin a sheet engaging finger adapted to A' iak'e hgold of theed'ge of a sheet and rock upon the pile to bend the edge of thesheet upwardly at an abrupt' angle, and a separating plate adapted lto move inwardly into engagement with the raised vedge vof the sheet-V and move it away from the engaging finger. and bend itupwardly against said arm.'

12. In a paper feeding machine, the oo mb'ination of a pile'support, a delivery cylinder mounted .upon said support and provided with-sheetengaging grippers, an arm engaging the top ofaa. pile of'sli'eets. upon Said snpport, and a sheet separating device comprisin ashe'et engaging finger adapted to take lho d of the edge o f a sheet and raise it upwardly, and a supporting plate adapted to move-inwardly above the pile and .engage theraised edge, of the sheet and move it away from the engagingv vlinger up against said arm into position to be taken by said gripper cylinder.

13. In a aperifeeding machine, the combination o a support for -a pile of sheets, and means for separating vand feeding sheets G0-4 'from the pile upOnsaid support, with screws extending longitudinally of the machine, means for rotating sai'dlongitudinal screws, blocks. threaded upon-said longitudinal screws, right and left'transverse screws journaled in said blocks, means for rotating said transverse screws,- a'nd piling gage ro'ds ependently adjusta le .'adjustably "supported by said transverse screws.

14. In a 'aper-feedin machine, the-com bination ofil support or a pile of sheets, and means for separating and feeding sheets from the pile, upon said support, with screws extending longitudinall of the machine,

-means for rotating said ongitudinal screws,'

longitudinally movable b ocks threaded upon said longitudinal screws, right and left transverse screws journaled in. said longitudinally movable blocks, means for rotating said transverse screws, -transversely adjustable blocks upon screws, piling .gagev rods dependin said transversely adjustable blocks in position to enga e a (pie of sheets 'upon said sup ort, an ui e rods .extending from sai transverse v adjustable blocks and engaging a part oi the machine frame to hold said piling gage rods 'in operative position.

15. Ina paper feedin machine,.the 'combination of a support or a pile of sheets, and means for separatin and feedin sheets from the pile upon said support, witli screws extending longitudinally of themachine, means for rotating said longitudinal screws,bloeks threaded upon said longitudinal screws, right and left transverse screws journaled in said blocks, means for" rotating .said transverse screws, piling gage rods threaded upon and supported by said'transverse screws, guide rods extending from .said piling gage rods, and. -a transverse ramebar' formed with a guide vslot 'into which. said 'guide arms project to -hold said piling gage rods in operative position.- 16. In afpaper feedin machine,` the combination o .a support for a elevating mechanism for sai support insaid transverse from ioo cluding a ratchet wheel and an actuating pawl, 4means for operating said pawl, a ave arm normally rest-ing u on thestopotgtle pile of sheets carried ysaid support, a rock shactt supportingsaid rock arm' projecting from sai rock shaft, a controlling plate pivotally mounted upon said rock arm'and supported beneath said actuatingpawl tocont-rol its operationin accordance Iwith the 'lieight `of the top. of

-the pile, suitable sheet deliverymechanism,-

Vand a` sheet' separating device ada ted to engage theedge of a sheet' and ben it upward y against said gage arm -in`- position to be taken'by'said delivery. mechanism.

1'7. In a paper jfeedin machine, the com pile of sheets, support in'- bination of a supporti or a elevating mechanism for' sai cluding a-ratchet'wlieel and an actuating pawl, means for operating said pawl, a. age

age arm, a Y

arm normally resti-ng upon 'the top o the.

pile of sheets carried Aby said support, a rock shaftjsupporting said gage airm,`a rock ari'n projecting from said rock shaft, a .controlling 'plate pivotally mounted upon-said and a sheet separating device adapted to rock arm and supported beneath saidl actuating pawl to control its operationl in accordance with `the height of the top ofxthe pile, an ustable/ support mounted beneath said controlling plate to regulate its position, suitable sheet delivery mechanism,

`Wheel and located above said actuating pawl, a gage arm normally resting upon the top of the pile of sheets carriedby said support, a rock shaft supporting'said gage arm, a rock arm projecting from said rock shaft, a controlling plate pivotally mounted upon said rock arm and supportedibeneath said actuating pawl to` control its operation in accordance with the height of the top of the pile, an adjustable support mounted bei neath said controlling plate to regulate its position and adapted to raise the plate into engagement with said actuating pawl to cause said actuating pawl to engage said check pawl, `Wherebyboth pawls may be disengaged from the ratchet wheel to permit the free operation of the pile support in Yeither direction, suitable sheet delivery mechanism, and a sheet separating device adapted to engage the edge of a sheet and bend it upwardly against said gage arm in position to be taken by said delivery mechanism.

19. In a paper feeding machine, thecombination of an adjustable support for a pile of sheets, and suitable sheet delivery mechanism, with a pneumatic separating finger supported `above one edge of the pile of sheets, means for rocking said separating finger while'it is in engagement with the top sheet of a pile, means for raisingand lower-r ing said finger with'relation to the pile, a sheet separating plate cooperating with; said pneumatic separating finger,` and means for Imoving said separating plate inwardly and outwardly above the pile to engage the edge of a sheet raised by said separating finger and move it into position to be taken by said delivery mechanism. I

20. In a paper feeding machine, the com bination of an adjustablesupport for a pile of sheets, with a pneumatic separating finger supported above one edge of the pile of Copies of rthis patent mayVY be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 0f Patents,

sheets, means for rocking said separating finger While 1n engagement. with the top sheet of a pile, lmeans for raising and lowering said finger with relation to the pile, a sheet separating plate cooperating witli said pneumatic separating finger, means for moving said separating plate inwardly and outwardly above the pile substantially as set forth, and a gage arm resting upon the pile against which a sheet 'is bent upwardly by said separating plate. n

21. In a paper feeding machine, the coinbination of an adjustable support for a pile of sheets, with a pneumatic separating fin.

ger supported above one edge of the pile of sheets, means for` rocking said separating finger while in engagement with the top sheet of a pile, means for raising and lowering said finger with relation to the pile, a

sheet separating plate formed with sheet en gaging notches, coperating 'with said pneumatic separating finger, and means for inev- .l ing said separating plate inwardly and outwardly above the pile substantially as set forth.

22. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of an adjustable support for a pile of sheets, with a pneumatic separating iinger, a vertically movable arinupon which said separating linger is pivotally mounted, a rock arm upon which said vertically mov-4 able arm is pivoted, means for rocking saidy separating finger-upon its supporting arm,

a separating plate having sliding engagef` ment L with said vertically movable arm,`

means for moving said separating plate iiiwardly and outwardly above theV pile, and

means forrocking said rock arm. .y

23. In a paper feed-ng machine, the com` bination of an adjustable support for a pile of sheets, with a sheet separating mecha:- nisin including a -ypneumatic separating' finger, two rodsor arms pivotally connected with said separating finger for supportingr and operating it, independently operated rock arms engaging said rods or arms,-and a separating plate engaging one of said rods or arms and adapted to be moved inwardly and outwardly over the pile of sheet-s.

24. In a paper feeding machine, the combination of an adjustably mounted support.

ora pile oi' sheets, with a pneumatic separating finger 85, rods 83 and 91 pivotally connected with said separating finger, rock arm S1 connected with rod 83, rock arm 92 engaging rod 91,- means for rocking rod S3 upon its supporting rock arm 81, a rock arm 100, and a separating plate 111 mounted vupon arm 100 .having sliding engagement with rod y MATTHEW VIERENEL.

Witnesses: WM. E. KNIGHT, M, CRAWFORD.

Washington, D. G. 

